The present invention relates to a hanger with an integrally molded plastic body and, more particularly, such a hanger defining a coordinate loop for the support of a second hanger.
Whether a hanger rack is mobile or stationary, it is desirable for the hanger rack to be able to suspend therefrom as many garment-supporting hangers as possible. However, if the hangers (and the garments supported thereby) are laterally aligned along the longitudinal axis of the hanger, there is clearly a limit as to the number of hangers (and garments) which may be so supported due to the combined thicknesses of the hangers and garments thereon. Any attempt to approach this limit may result in unacceptable squashing or creasing of the hanger-supported garments due to the close longitudinal proximity of the garments on the hanger rack. Further, when the limit is approached, the ability to spread the hangers, thereby to enable removal or even just viewing of a particular garment by a potential customer, may be severely diminished.
In order to overcome these problems, it is known to provide a hanger with means for supporting directly thereunder another hanger. In this manner, there may be suspended from a given rack at least two vertically displaced rows of hangers. Indeed, the hangers of the lower row may also be provided with means for supporting hangers directly therebelow so that there may be a plurality of three or more vertically spaced rows of hangers. Despite the wide variety of different mechanisms used to suspend one hanger beneath another, these mechanisms have not proven to be entirely satisfactory in use. Either the mechanisms have proven to be relatively fragile, so that in use they break and allow the lower hanger to drop away from the upper hanger, or they present manufacturing difficulties which slow the production of the hanger bodies and thereby increase the unit manufacturing costs for the hanger body. Additionally, the conventional mechanisms do not provide for easy access of the lower hanger thereto so that suspension of the lower hanger from the upper hanger, and its subsequent removal therefrom, is tiresome, time-consuming and difficult. These problems are especially evident where the hanger body is an integrally molded piece (that is, it is of unitary, one-piece integral construction made in a single plastic molding operation), and the mechanism must be designed so as to neither interfere with easy release of the molded hanger body from the mold nor unduly increase the time required for the molding operation.
The unsatisfactory nature of the conventional mechanisms is especially evident when the integrally molded plastic hanger body defines a pair of horizontally spaced walls. Typically such walls are substantially parallel and connected by a bight adjacent the tops thereof to define an inverted xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d cross section. In order to ensure a hanger body of limited thickness, the horizontally spaced walls are conventionally of such thinness and so closely spaced together that they do not lend themselves to incorporation of a sturdy mechanism for supporting another hanger therebelow.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide in one embodiment a hanger with an integrally molded plastic body defining a pair of horizontally spaced walls incorporating a coordinate support for maintaining a hanger therebelow.
Another object is to provide such hanger wherein in one embodiment the coordinate support is formed without substantially increasing the hanger body molding time or presenting problems with release of the hanger body from the mold.
A further object is to provide such a hanger wherein in one embodiment the coordinate support is configured and dimensioned to easily and rapidly receive thereon the suspending means of a lower hanger.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a hanger wherein in one embodiment the hanger body has an inverted U-shaped cross section.
It is another object to provide such a hanger wherein in one embodiment the hanger body (and in particular the coordinate support) is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and use.
It is now been found that the above and related objects of the present invention are obtained in a hanger comprising a hanger body defining a pair of horizontally spaced walls, and means at the top of the hanger for suspending the hanger body on an external support. The improvement comprises the walls being adapted to cooperatively define, adjacent the bottoms thereof, a support for the suspending means of another hanger (the lower hanger). Each of the wails defines a tab pivotally connected to the wall bottom for movement between an initially spaced-apart orientation of the tabs and an engaged orientation of the tabs wherein the tabs engage one another to cooperatively define the support.
In a preferred embodiment the support is defined by the engagement of a male member extending from one tab and a female member extending from the other tab, the male and female members being telescopically engaged when the tabs are in the engaged orientation. The tabs in the initial spaced-apart orientation extend generally transverse to the walls and in the engaged orientation extend generally parallel to the walls. The tabs either releasably or non-releasably engage one another in the engaged orientation. Each tab is preferably substantially rigid adjacent the bottom thereof and substantially flexible adjacent the top thereof.
The hanger body is preferably formed of integrally molded plastic. Preferably, the walls of the hanger body are thin and substantially parallel, and the hanger body additionally defines a bight connecting the pair of walls adjacent the tops thereof. The hanger body defines a first space intermediate the walls, and the tabs define therebetween above the support a second space, the first and second spaces communicating with one another, thereby to facilitate placement of the suspending means of another hanger (the lower hanger) on the support and to facilitate its removal therefrom.